


Love Like You

by Vesuvian_American



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Fluff without Plot, Fluffy Ending, Romantic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-01 15:18:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17869691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vesuvian_American/pseuds/Vesuvian_American
Summary: Muriel is still learning how to love. Unknowingly, you show him the way.





	Love Like You

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is based off of the song Love Like You by Rebecca Sugar. I feel like this song fits so well with how Muriel would feel in a relationship/growing romantic feelings for the apprentice. THUS this story was born.

A few months had passed and you and Muriel had a stable relationship. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to understand why you loved him so much. If he could understand why you loved him, he thought, maybe it would help him show how much he loves you. Even now, being with you only makes him feel guilty. Muriel doesn’t feel worthy of you and your affection. You’re complete and polar opposites in his eyes. You’re like a warm sunny afternoon in a field of forget-me-nots. He feels like a dark stormy night lost deep in the forest, cold and forgotten. How could you love him? How can he bring himself to let you love him? He isn’t enough, but still you stay and tell him every day how special he is to you. What makes him so special to you? 

Even with all of these intrusive thoughts, Muriel truly enjoys himself when he’s around you. He starts to feel like the storm that’s been following him for years is finally starting to clear up. He may not show you how happy he is but the faint smile that’s constantly tugs at his lips and the butterflies that flutter in his chest around his heart are a good enough sign to him that he loves you. He wants to love you properly and each day he spends around you, he learns more and more just how to do that. Muriel wants to protect you, he wants to shower you in love, he wants to love like you. Most importantly, Muriel wants to love himself just as much as you love him. 

“I just wanted to say, I have... a good time when you’re around.” Muriel clutches both of your hands together within his. He shifts his weight awkwardly as his eyes scan the forest floor beneath him. A blush rises on both of your faces, soft and warm. Finally, Muriel looks back into your eyes awaiting your response anxiously. Did he say the wrong thing? Do you still like him? 

“I have fun too Muriel. Thank you.” You coo in your kindest voice. You loved Muriel, and you loved how he did his best to show you how he felt. He had taken you on a walk through the forest and ended up in a field of spring flowers. 

“I had so much fun picking flowers with you, I want to decorate your hut with them, if that’s okay.” You ask. His lids lower but don’t completely close, his lips spread a fraction wider, that’s as much of a smile ass you’ll ever get. He looks so calm and genuinely happy, it makes your heart skip a beat. 

“Of course, let’s go back.” He offers his hand and you take it eagerly. From there you walk home and hum a song to the gentle giant. Muriel can do nothing but squeeze your hand and watch you fondly, his shy smile never leaves his face for the rest of the day. He just whittles away at a chunk of wood while you begin decorating the dull hut bright with all types of flowers. When you’re done you still have a lot of flowers left over and you decide to weave them together into a wreath for the front door of the hut. You made sure to leave two flowers over, one to tuck behind Muriel’s ear and one to be tucked behind your own. 

“Thank you... for today. I wanted to thank you properly so..” Muriel’s large hand unfolds to reveal he has whittled two bear statues, but these were unique than his others. The larger bear was meant to be Muriel, it had the same scar on its cheek, and the smaller was you, with a little flower behind the ear. You gently take the figures into your lap and study them. “Oh, they’re perfect Muriel. Thank you! I want you to keep the one that’s me and I’ll keep the one that’s you!” With that being said, you whisper a protective spell into the bear figurine that will stay with Muriel, and he does the same with the other. “Now we’ll always be able to protect each other!” 

For a while, you both sit in comfortable silence on Muriel’s bed just looking at the bear statues. It was unfortunately time for you to head back before sundown. “Thank you for today.” You say as you stand and move to be in front of Muriel, you keep your soft eyes on him as you bring the figurine you were gifted up into a kiss on your lips. Your lover’s face flushes fiercely but for once, he doesn’t tear his eyes from yours. He mimics your motions and kisses his own figurine as well, his free hand still laying limp on his thigh. You take his hand and bring it to your face and nudge your cheek into his warm palm, then you to turn and press a loving kiss into his palm. At this, his fingers flinch a bit at the sensation he had closed his eyes as he kissed the littler bear in his occupied hand and didn’t notice what you were doing until it was too late, not that he cared. Muriel stood towering over you, but leaving his hand in your control. You smiled against his palm and let the lingering kiss fade, you looked back to Muriel’s forest green eyes and smiled warmly. He took your chin and lifted it slightly with the knuckle of his index finger with this Muriel did the unthinkable. He kneeled down and pressed a gentle kiss to your lips, a kiss that lingered but faded far too quickly for your liking. Brushing his thumb over your blushing cheek Muriel broke the silence. 

“I love you.” That was the first time either of you had said it, you never in your life thought Muriel would be the first to say those words. You didn’t even know he’d respond if you had taken the matters into your own hands. 

“I-I love you too, Muriel.” Your eyes were wide with wonder. Again, he’s taking your breath away, he was good at that without even knowing. He cleared his throat and grumbled low. “Well, let’s get you home.” He walked you to the door and let you walk through first. Today he learned to love like you, he learned to love himself like you loved him. Never again would he doubt this, he loved you and you loved him. Finally, the storm was cleared, the eclipse that snuffed out all warmth that tried to enter his life ended, the sun was shining bright for the first time in a long time. You were his sun.


End file.
